EXCLUSIVE: The Justice Department is firing more than a dozen key officials who worked on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team prosecuting President Donald Trump, after Acting Attorney General James McHenry stated that they could not be trusted to “faithfully implement the president’s agenda,” Fox News Digital has learned.
A Justice Department official confirmed to Fox News Digital that McHenry has informed each individual of their departure by letter.
It’s unknown how many officials got the letter. The individuals’ names were not immediately published.
“Today, Acting Attorney General James McHenry terminated the employment of a number of DOJ officials who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump,” a Department of Justice spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “In light of their actions, the Acting Attorney General does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President’s agenda.”
This measure “is consistent with the mission of ending the weaponization of government,” said the official to Fox News Digital.
The move comes after the Justice Department transferred over a dozen officials to a Sanctuary City task force and other initiatives during the Trump administration’s first week.
It also comes after President Trump promised to cease the federal government’s weaponization.
Former Attorney General Merrick Garland named Smith, a former Justice Department official, as special counsel in November 2022.
Smith, a former assistant U.S. attorney and chief of the DOJ’s public integrity department, supervised the investigation into Trump’s retention of secret materials after leaving the White House and if he impeded the government’s inquiry.
Smith was also entrusted with leading an inquiry into whether Trump or other officials and entities obstructed the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College result on January 6, 2021.
Smith charged Trump in both cases, but he pleaded not guilty.
Judge Aileen Cannon of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed the classified records case in July 2024, ruling that Smith had been hired as special counsel improperly.
Smith sued Trump in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith moved to drop the action. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted the request.
Both cases were dismissed.
